All posts tagged: Gardening

Sowing all the Seeds.

Published by

One good thing about the summer in the MidWest – it is growing time in the garden! To begin the growing process I start plants like tomatoes and chili peppers around now. I like to browse the seed aisle and pick out some new varieties.  Last year I was not mad about the beefsteak tomatoes I grew, so I went for a smaller size this year along with the always popular mini tomatoes.  I honed my chili needs down and chose just one variety.  Eggplant/aubergines were a surprise success a couple of years ago, so I grabbed some seeds this year and last but not least I picked some cucumber seeds. Fresh cucumber, tomatoes and some feta cheese is one of my favorite summer dishes, especially when the cukes and toms are off the plant and still warm from the sun. How could I resist ‘Brad’s Atomic Grape’ tomatoes or ‘Sunrise Bumblebee’ or even ‘Pink Love Apple’?  All of the seeds I chose are from Missouri businesses, so I am hoping that will make them …

Weekly Photos 32/52

Published by

  1. The tomatoes are coming along nicely, I am still picking a handful of ripe ones every day.  It has rained heavily over the past few days so the plants have tilted slightly, but the tomatoes are all growing and ripening. 2. We got a Sno Cone lunch this week.  I had a coconut cream sno cone and a ‘Chicago’ hot dog. Not the healthiest of lunches, but it was good! 3. The trees are starting to drop a few leaves. We have had a cooler few days and it has been so lovely. 4. The dining table during the summer, G.I. Joes and paints in harmony! I paint and sketch in my journal while my 11 year old sorts out his G.I. Joe accessories. 5. The caterpillars are making kale lace in the garden. 6. I spotted the most beautiful colour palette in these berries.  They are growing on a vine which is all along the fence in my back garden.  So I had to pick a few off and paint them and …

Weekly Photos 24/52.

Published by

1. I planted a mixed seed pack from Seedgeeks in the Spring and they are growing very nicely.  This bright red poppy is a fabulous thing! 2. I keep spotting these pretty flowers when I am out walking the dog, there is a tree full along the trail and they are all over the ground under the tree. 3. When I take the dog for a walk at 7am to try and beat the heat, I always take my mug of tea with me.  On Friday when I had finished my drink, I gathered various natural bits and bobs.  Flowers, leaves, seed pods, bark and a small branch of bamboo!  Once I got home I laid it all out to take a photo or two and do some sketches and painting.  A productive morning was had. 4-7. At the weekend we visited our friends who lives out in the sticks and I enjoyed having a poke around in their garden.  The boys got to ride on the old tractor and we made a bonfire to …

Weekly Photos 20/52

Published by

1.I haven’t spotted as many mushrooms this year as usual, but I was impressed by this little cluster which I managed to snap as the dog was trying to pull me away to carry on with her walk! 2 & 3.Our local library hosts a reading club every summer, kids, teens and adults each have their own and this weekend was time to sign up. They set up a kick off party at the firehouse where we had hotdogs and cake before signing up for a summer of reading and prizes.  I stood on my tippy toes and got a few photos of the fire equipment and I thought these helmets looked ready for action. 4.I haven’t planted as much in the garden this year as I would like, but I am so happy that everything has started to grow. This is a pot of coriander/cilantro. 5. The banana pepper is thriving! 6. I was overjoyed to see my first sweet pea flower. 7. The hydrangea flowers are done for now, so I deadheaded them …

Weekly Photos 2/52

Published by

I got a Gelli plate for Christmas and I got it out to play with this week. I tried cutting out triangles and masking off trees or mountains (depending what you see!). I used card stock, printer paper and wax deli paper and they all worked well but gave slightly different results in many good ways. I planted some seeds this week and snapped some polaroids. We went to the Ice Carnival in the Delmar Loop this weekend and spotted these magnificent lions as we walked down to the Carnival.  They are guarding City Hall and doing a fine job. Spotted at the Scientology Church on Delmar.  What if you don’t pass?  No personality?  Yikes. How was your week?  I hope it was lovely. Happy Monday!  

Drawing Fish and Planting Seeds

Published by

For the whole month of January I am drawing a fish everyday,  as you do! They are all going on the same page so that by the 31st I will have a page of fishy fish to maybe use as a coloring sheet or just a lovely page of different fish.  Half way through the project, I am starting to get a full page.  I can’t wait until I am squeezing them in! Then in February I am going to do the same thing, but with a different object.  I am thinking of drawing a house every day in February, so that I will end up with a very long street or a little village by February 29th. The weather this week has gone perfectly bonkers.  In the mornings we have had frost and icy puddles and today’s temperature has risen to nearly 70 degrees fahrenheit!  Spring-like.  Don’t pull out the shorts just yet because it is supposed to drop down to 18 degrees by Sunday with the threat of snow. So, while the air …

Through The Lens Thursday #47. Cut.

Published by

Ironically I took this photo nice and early when I was cutting down and pulling out the last of my tomatoes, and now I am posting late! You might have noticed the change in surroundings around here. I have moved (or rather am moving, so excuse the empty boxes and bare walls) blog house back to my original blog, here at CatsEatDogs. All of my old posts and bits and bobs are here too, so feel free to have a look around and if you want some old old posts, I started this blog in 2012 so there is lots to look at! So I am sneaking in late with Through The Lens Thursday, sorry Greta! Hopefully normal posting will resume next week when the prompt is ‘Muted’ and it is my birthday! Whoo hoo! I love birthday’s, don’t you!

One + Four = Life. Weekly Photos 46/52

Published by

1. It is soup and fresh bread season!  Hurrah, I love making soup and of course the bread to dunk in it. 2. All the tomato and aubergine plants have been pulled out of the raised beds and I have started to dig them over and add in a pile of compost.  The weekend was lovely and sunny and today it has rained all day so far with no sign of dry on the near horizon. Oh well at least the compost will get watered into the soil and the leaves will mulch down nicely. 3. More tennis this weekend, we like to play in the handball courts, bouncing the balls off the three walls.  Kind of tennis crossed with squash with a healthy dose of giggling thrown in. 4. I have been keeping up with a 30 day sketchbook challenge with Skillshare and day 13 was ‘leaves’.  I used my lovely sumi brush and gouache paint to quickly sketch the leaves I picked up in the woods that day. Did you have a good …

Bharta. Aubergine/Eggplant curry.

Published by

I have had a bumper crop of aubergines this year and when they started to grow, my first thoughts were ‘great, the aubergines are growing, but I don’t even like to eat them!’ I gave some away, made some recipes I didn’t like and then my friend Tracie at Beets and Birch blog suggested making Bharta. I did and I loved it! So my final batch of aubergines and chili peppers are all going into the curry. This meal will use up the last of the coriander in the garden too I think. Bharta or Aubergine Curry. (adapted from Madhur Jaffery’s book – ‘Madhur Jaffery’s World Vegetarian’ 1 large or a few smaller aubergines 4-6 tomatoes 1 onion Fresh chili(es) 1 tsp ground cumin 1 inch grated fresh ginger Prick  the aubergines,  tomatoes and chilis with a fork a couple of times each, then roast on a foil lined tray at 425 degrees for 40-60 mins until the aubergines are soft and have started to flatten.  Meanwhile chop the onion and fry in olive oil …

Through The Lens Thursday #43. Spicy.

Published by

This week has been like summer here in the Mid West!  It got to 92 degrees yesterday and I am browsing boots online while wearing sandals. Last week we had a couple of nights of frost, I know, the weather here is bonkers!  My chili plants are in pots so I hauled them all into the basement to hide out until the temps crept back up.  They seemed to be happy with the arrangement and are growing and blooming all over the place.  They had better hurry up as winter is just around the corner and the weather here can turn on a dime.  I deliberately planted them in pots this year so that I can move them into the basement and hopefully I will get some chilis from these flowers. The top picture is a Santaka Hot Asian chili and the bottom is an Ancho chili, so the Santaka will turn a vibrant red and the Ancho has some growing ahead of it as this is a tiny new chili.  Once the chiles ripen, …